Grant: Project Grant

A concussion is a kind of traumatic brain injury. Concussions are very common and can cause a variety of symptoms. Memory symptoms (e.g., forgetfulness) are among the most likely to last longer than 3-6 months. There are no known effective treatments. We are learning that how people cope with memory symptoms after concussion may strongly influence how they recover. We designed a new psychological treatment by tailoring 'cognitive-behavioural therapy' (CBT) to memory symptoms. It involves teaching people how to go about rebuilding their memory skills and confidence. The proposed study will compare this therapy to memory compensation strategy training, a type of rehabilitation traditionally used to help people with brain injury sidestep memory problems. Study participants will be assigned at random to CBT with usual care, cognitive rehabilitation with usual care, or usual care only. Following treatment, we will compare the three groups on a measure of memory concern. We will discover whether adding CBT or cognitive rehabilitation to usual care is better than usual care alone, and also whether CBT is more effective than cognitive rehabilitation. The study should provide new treatment options for people struggling with ongoing memory symptoms after concussion.